sadsacnews2014: SADSAC: Walhalla/Rawson Weekend 18/19 October.

A few weeks ago I thought that this ride would end up like last year, cancelled. However, Shirley managed to put together a top program for those available to come. In the end we had thirteen riders and two backups, with Shirley and Betty doing the driving. George was unsure how much riding he could do due to recent sickness but ended up doing about half. Our numbers were boosted by Linden, Colin, John and Maureen who also kindly let up use their property as a car park and base. We also had some one day riders who did the round trip from Traralgon on the Saturday, some 97 km. These were Pat, Gillian and Denise, all strong riders. The ride was delayed a bit at the start as yours truly did not notice the 9 am start on the flyer. As it turned out we were on the road before 10.
The weather for the whole weekend was very pleasant indeed. The 7 km warm up to Tyers was most helpful to prepare us for the hills to come. Due to the lunch stop being Walhalla, the morning ride was always going to be the longest. Even so we were there just after one. After a relaxing lunch we took the time to ride up to the top of the town to see the start of the Alpine Walking Track. It was then off to the Thomson Station to tackle the main hill of the ride. Everyone managed to ride the accent so it must not be all that steep. After that it was not far to the overnight stop at the Rawson Caravan Park. The accommodation at the venue was basic for some but comfortable all the same. The evening meal at the Stockyard was more difficult to complete than the day's ride. We seemed to be all eating for two, most impressive. After a long sleep it was off to breakfast and another big feed, surprisingly for first up in the morning quite appropriate.
The ride back was somewhat shorter and easier than the outbound. Not far from Rawson we met up with Pat who had ridden up to meet us. The final run to Tyers for morning tea was a breeze. After more coffee and cake the return via Thoms Bridge and the Old Melbourne road was assisted by a following breeze. Once we had repacked our cars we headed off to the food court at the centre for lunch. This was a top weekend and all thanks go to Shirley for her organisation prior and support on the weekend.